Pea or like material splitting mechanism



Dec. 2, 1930. J.' ZEB 1,783,489

PEA OR LIKE MATERIAL SPLITTING MECHANISM Filed May 20. 1929 2Sheets-Sheei 1 INVENTOR J ay 2.96

ATTORNEY J. ZEB

Dec. 2, 1930.

PEA -OR LIKE MATERIAL SPLITTING MECHANISM Filed May 20, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 2 WWW I INVENTOR ye 97a Z66 BY NEY Patented Dec. 2, 1930nine STATES JOSEPH'ZEB, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON PEA OR LIKE MATERIALSPLITTING MECHANISM Application filed May 20, 1929. Serial No. 364,469.

Theobject of this invention-is to provide an improved mechanism forsplitting peas or like material.

V7 hen peas are split they are substantially dry and considerablepressure impact is necessary to disrupt the hull thereof. Besidesdisrupting the hull, it is necessary to remove the same. However, it isnecessary to avoid crushing the peas as that would greatly reduce theirmarket value. Hence, the invention is not addressed to the crushingfunction but is limited to what might be broadly termed the splitting orshelling of most-any edible which of course have not the hardness ofearthen matter. I

It is a feature of the invention to feed the peas or like material bygravity to the splitting mechanism thereby imposing on the latter theWork of taking in material just as rapidly as the same is split.

The invention involves relatively movable splitting members betweenwhich the material is fed, said members having suitable split ting areasor surfaces adaptedto act upon the interposed material.

It is a feature of the invention to provide one of the movable memberswith a floating mounting so that such member will yield or take anyposition responsive to the resistance of the material acted upon.

A further feature consists in yleldinglymountingthe floating member sothat the latter can yield responsive to bulking. or

wedging of the material thereby releasing the latter to avoid crushingand eliminating wedging. 1

A further featureis to provide relatively inclined splitting surfaceswith means for varying the relative inclination thereof to thereby alterthe action of'the mechanism.

A further feature consists in a novel form of suspension or mounting ofthe movable splitting member so that when the latter is actuated, itwill partake of a variety of movements thereby increasing the sphttingcoaction with the remaining member or members.

The invention has many other features and objects whichwill be morefully described in connection with the accompanying drawings brokenaway, and showing the most improved form of the device of my invention.

Fig. 2, 1s a vertical sectional View on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is a sectional View on line 3-3of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, is a sectional View on line 4:4: of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5, is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6, is a fragmentary face view of a portion of a splitting surfaceof one of the members.

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout thedifferent figures of the drawings.

As shown, the device of my invention includes a frame which consists ofupright frame members 1 rigidly connected with horizontal frame members2, and transverse frame members 3,'the latter being of a specialconstruction that will be later described. Supporting longitudinal framemembers t extend beyond the ends of the framestructure proper and areconnected by transverse members 5. 7

A means for feeding the material to be split, by gravity, is shown inthe form of a. hopper having converging side Walls 6 and vertical endWalls 7. The tops of the side Walls 6 are suitably. bent over andsecured at 8, as clearly shown in Fig.2. The discharge end 9 is locatedand proportioned in a manner to deliver thematerial to be split betweenthe splitting members to be presently described. I

The invention includes coacting splitting members and in the mostpreferred construction, I employ inner and outer splitting members.

As illustrated, the outer members are in the form of bars 10 ofidentical construction and function hence only one need be described indetail and like reference characters are applied to both, and referenceto one will include bot-h.

The bars 10 are shown horizontally disposed and extend substantiallythroughout the length of the frame. At their ends, said splitting barsare rigidly secured to adjusting bars 11 which are inclined toward eachother from their lower toward their upper ends, as shown in Fig. 3. Thelower transverse members 3, are shown of hollow eonstruction withbottoms 12 and sides 13 and the lower ends of the adjusting bars 11 aresupported on the bottoms 12, and the side member 13 will retain thelower ends of the bars 11 in place.

The upper ends of adjusting bars 11 project into the transverse members3 and are held in line by the side portions l lthereof.

It is an important feature of my invention to provide adjustment for thesplitting bars 10 whereby the latter can not only be adjusted toward andaway from each other with the same relation retained as illustrated inFig. 3, but also whereby the bars 10 can be adjusted to change theirrelative converging position with respect to each other, and I will nowdescribe this feature.

At the tops of said adjusting bars 11, I provide adjusting means whichis shown in the form of a separating wedge 15 which may be depressed toseparate the upper ends of 0 bars 11 or may be elevated to dispose thupper ends of bars 11 in closer relation.

Either adjustment would, as will now be clear, change the angular orconverging rela tion of the splitting bars 10, with respect to eachother, from the position shown in F ig.

3. 1 h ave provided means for retaining such adjustments which may be inthe form of retaining wedge bars 16. The outer ends 17 of said wedgebars 16 abut against frame members 1, and the inner ends 18 abut againstthe outer faces of the upper ends of bars 11. The inner ends 18 aresuitably elevated when it is desired to lower wedge 15 and lowered whensaid we( ge 15 is elevated. Thus when wedge 15 is lowered, the upperportions of bars 10 are separated and when wedge 15 is elevated, theupper portions of bars 10 are brought into closer relation.

As regards the lower ends of adjusting bars 11, they are held in spacedrelation by means which may be in the form of springs 19 that areinterposed between said ends and suitable abutments 20. It will later beclear that the tendency of the interposed material will always be tospread the lower ends of bars 11,

apart from each other. To adjust said lower ends toward each other Iprovide means which may be in the form of wedges 21 which are adapted tobe driven downwardly to a) move said bars 11 toward each other andconadjusting devices operable above and below the splitting bars foraltering the angular relation thereof, and at the same time maintainingsaid bars substantially rigid.

I will next describe that element or member of the mechanism whereby Iobtain such relative movement of the splitting members as may benecessary to split the interposed material.

As shown, I employ an intermediate splitting member or element that isdisposed between the splitting bars 10 and which is shown to have across section of an inverted V-form, indicated at 22. As shown, thismember is solid in cross section but this is not essential to theinvention. T he intermedi ate member 22 has outwardly facing anddownwardly and outwardly inclined liat splitting faces which may beformed of any suitable material. I have shown the member wrapped withsheet metal 23, having suitable openings 24-, the splitting faces beingindicated at 25. in practice, the metal forming the splitting facesextends over the apex of said member and downwardly to and is bent underthe bottom 26, where it may be anchored as indi 'ated at 27.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 1, the material forming the splittingfaces extends subjacent the discharge end 9 of the hopper and lengthwiseof the member 22 a sullicient distance beyond the ends of the hopper tooperate on any material that may require such range of area. At 28, Ihave designated one terminal end edge of the material.

Likewise, the splitting bars 10 have correspondingly inwardly facingfiat splitting faces 28, which may be formed of the same material asthat applied to the intermediate member 22, and which is designated at29, said sheet material 29 terminating at 30, abreast of the tern'iinals28, of the intermediate member The lower edges 31, are bent under andsuitably secured to the bottom edges 32, of bars 10. Said bars 10 arechamfered at 33 to form a converging intake for the material and theupper edges of the splitting sheet forming material are extended overand secured to the tops of bars 10, as indicated at 34.

It will be noted that the apex of member 22, is slightly below the topedges of bars 10 thereby insuring a supply of material to be split onboth sides of intermediate meinliier 22 and between the latter and saidbars 10, as will be clearly seen in Fig. 2. The lower portion of bar 22extends below bars 10, and in order to free the faces 25, below bars 10,from the hulls of split peas, 1 provide means which may be in the formof suitable brushes having backs 35 secured to bars 10, and bristles 36,adapted to engage faces below bars 10.

It may be stated that the usual adjustment will be such that a slightlygreater space will be provided near the tops of the coacting splittingbars than near the bottomsthereof.

Means is provided for causing relative movement of the splitting membersto effect the performance of the splitting'function.

In the present case, I preferably apply such motion to the intermediatemember 22, and as shown, such motion is of a reciprocating nature. ThusI haveshown a shaft 37, which may be driven from any suitable source ofpower and which is provided with a crank 38. Said crank 38 isconnectedwith member 22 by a connecting rod 39, at 40, sothat as thecrank turns, to and fro movement will be imparted to the member 22.

In many cases, a strictly reciprocating movement would be efficient andoperative for the purpose but it is a feature of this invention to causea variable relative movement of the splitting bars and I accomplish thisobject by a novelsuspension of the actuated member, which, in thepresent embodiment, is the intermediate member.

Hanger rods ll are connected at their lower ends to said member 22, at42, which forms a pivotal connection, and the upper ends of said rodsare supported by eyes 43 having rods 44 which extend upwardly throughcross frame members 5. Thus it will be clear that the member 22, ispivo-tally suspended and that its points of suspension are remote fromthe splitting faces and near the ends of said member 22. Thus, as saidmember 22 is reciprocated, it swings in. an arc and hence the faces 25,not only reciprocate abreast of faces 28, but also diagonally thereof.Fur? ther, by reason of the arc in which the member 22 swings, the faces25 have anupward and downward movement with respect to faces 28. V V

In actual practice, I have obtained highly efficient results byimparting a relatively short length stroke to member 22, say forinstance, from two and one-half to four inches each way. With this shortstroke,and with a crank revolution of from one hundred to one hundredand twenty revolutions per minute, I prevent a too sudden descent of thematerial being split and cause the latter to take a circuitous pathgenerally indicated by dotted line A, in Fig. 1, and I thereby insure amore efficient splitting operation.

It will now be, clear that, the intermediate member 22 isfloatinglysuspended between ;;the bars 10 and hence is capable of assuming variouspositions dependent or responsive to the action of the material onopposite sides of said intermediate member.

It is also a feature of my invention to yieldingly suspend saidintermediate member.

Hence, the rods 44 extending upwardly through cross members 5, extendthrough springs 45 and the latter are seated on abutment discs 46. Likediscs f7 are mounted on said springs 45 and the rods '44 extend throughsaid discs and are threaded and provided with nuts 48. This constructionnot only affords a yielding suspension but an adjustable suspension. Bythis means, the springs 45 will yieldresponsive to clogging or bulkingof material being split, and by reason of-the adjustability afforded, Iam able to raise or lower member 22, thereby reducing or'enlarging thesplitting spaces, re

spectively, independently of any adjustment of the bars 10, or inharmony with adjustment of the latter; 7

While the operation of the device of my invention may be clear from theforegoing, it will be brieflyrecapitulated.

In practice, a supply of peas or other material to be split is'depositedin the hopper before the mechanism is started and hence material isdelivered to the tops of the spaces between the splitting members andmay freely enter between the same for a slight distance downwardly. Thisinitial entrance is rendered possible by the fact that the spaces aregreater at the top than near the bottom. After the material has slightlyentered on both sides of the floating intermediate member 22, the latteris started and as the feed is by gravity, the material continues toenter the spaces just as rapidly as the machine splits and advancespreviously entered ma terial.

As the material descends in the spaces and is spilt, 1t finally emergesfrom the lower open spaces and may be caught on the floor or in anysuitable receptacle.

The bristles 36 will not prevent discharge of the material as they arepreferably in sections and they serve to remove any hulls that may stickto the surfaces 25 below the bars 10.

It is believed that the invention will be clear from the foregoingdescription, and while I have herein shown one specific form of myinvention, Ido not wish to be limited I thereto except for suchlimitations as the claims may lmport.

.I c'la1m:

1. In a pea or like material splitting me-ch-l. anism, companion membershaving inwardly rib anism, companion fixed members having downwardly andoutwardly inclined inwardly facing flat splitting surfaces in opposedrelation, a pea splitting element between said members having outwardlyand downwardly V inclined outwardly facing flat splitting surfaces inspaced splitting relation wit-h respect to said inwardly facingsurfaces, means for delivering material to be split on both sides ofsaid element and between said members, and means for actuating saidelement to split the interposed material.

3. In a pea or like material splitting mechanism, companion fixedmembers having downwardly and outwardly inclined and inwardly facingsplitting surfaces in opposed relation, an intermediate pea splittingelement having outwardly facing splitting surfaces correspondinglyinclined with respect to said inwardly facing surfaces, means floatinglysupporting said element, means for delivering material to be splitonboth sides of said element and between said members, and means forreciprocating said floating element to split the interposed material.

1-. In a pea or like material splitting mechanism, companion fixedmembers h ving downwardly and outwardly inclined and inwardly facingsplitting surfaces in opposed relation, an intermediate floating peasplitting element having outwardly facing splitting surfacescorrespondingly inclined with respect to inwardly facing surfaces andcoacting therewith, means yieldingly and adjustably supporting saidfloating ele ment between said members whereby said element may beraised or lowered to alter the intervening spaces between said membersand element and partake of a variable movement, means for delivering thematerial to be split into the spaces between said members and element,and means for reci n'ocating said element to split said material.

5. In a pea or like material splitting mechanism, companion fixed barshaving downwardly and outwardly inclined inwardly facing splittingsurfaces in opposed relation, an intermediate inverted V-shaped barinterposed between said fixed bars and having outwardly facing splittingsurfaces in spaced splitting relation with respect to said inwardlyfacing surfaces, and the spaces be tween said bars opening downwardlyfor discharge of the split material, means for delivering material to besplit into the tops of said spaces on both sides of said intermediatebar and between said fixed bars, and means for imparting movement tosaid intermediate bar to split the interposed material.

6. In a pea or like material splitting mechanism, inner and outer barshaving coacting inclined splitting surfaces, means for reciprocatingsaid inner bar, and means pen-dently suspending said inner bar near itsends in floating relation between said outer bars, whereby reciprocatingmovement will impart endwise and diagonal movement to splitting surfacesof said inner bar with respect to the splitting surfaces of said outerbars.

7. In a pea or like material split-ting mechanism, inner and outer barshaving coacting inclined splitting surfaces, means for adjusting saidouter bars to Vary the inclination of said surfaces with respect to eachother, means floatingly suspending said inner bar adapted to takevariable lateral positions with respect to said outer bars, means foradjusting said inner bar to vary the inclination of the surfaces, andmeans for imparting movement to said inner bar to split the interposedmaterial.

8. In a pea or like material splitting mechanism, inner and outermembers having coacting inclined splitting surfaces, means yieldably andfloatingly mounting said inner member whereby the latter is adapted totake various lateral positions and move endwise and diagonally of saidouter members, and means for imparting movement tosaid inner member tosplit the interposed material.

9. In a pea or like material splitting iechanisin, inner and outermembers having coacting incline-d splitting surfaces, means floatinglysuspending said inner member for variable lateral and diagonal movementthereof, means for actuating said inner member, and means for adjustingsaid outer members to vary the inclination of said splitting surfacesthereof with respect to the splitting surfaces of said inner member.

10. In a pea or like material splitting mechanism, inner and outermembers having coactin g splitting surfaces, means for actuatr saidinner member, and means yieldingly suspending said inner member topermit the latter to yield responsive to wedging or bulking of theinterposed material between said members.

In witness whereof, I hereby aiiix my signature.

JOSEPH ZEB.

